With the exception of the Pavel Bure pocket watch I serviced a while back this was the first Russian watch I have serviced. The watch is a 17 Jewel manual wind Vostok. Here are my impressions:
Overall finish of the movement is very poor. I have seen Chinese counterfeit movements that were as well finished or better than this thing. This movement is definitely about functionality not beauty. The parts fit together adequately. Timing was halfway decent. It timed out way better than an old ladies Bulova watch or one of those Chinese counterfeits, but nowhere near a modern ETA or high grade movement. The deviation in positions was about 25 seconds and it will easily time out to within 10 seconds a day but it won’t be a chronometer.
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I’ve had two recent (last 10 years) Russian mechanical watches. One Poljot (handwound) and one Vostok (automatic). I found the finish to be completely non-existent, and the quality very spotty.
Very interesting comments. While the movement of the Vostok shown is definitely not Swiss-grade, that watch only costs about $50. Given the price, these watches have proven to be pretty reliable. I have numerous Vostoks and enjoy them all. I’d love to hear your opinion as to what the best mechanical movement is for watches in the under $100 category. Any thoughts on that? Thank you!
RWL, I’m going to work on a post to answer your question about mechanical watches for under $100 look for it this month.
I would add as well that a major potential source of the poor reputation surrounding these is likely the use of organic lubricants by the Soviets vs. modern synthetics as well as a price point and a difficulty finding willing watchmakers that has led to years/decades of neglect by their newer owners. When they were new, these were expected to be serviced every year or two by design. Many years of running them dry by enthusiasts accustomed to synthetically-lubed Swiss/Japanese calibers can have a permanent detrimental effect on performance and timekeeping (which admittedly wasn’t even too great in the first place).
These definitely aren’t haute horlogerie, weren’t terribly high-quality to begin with and shouldn’t be compared to quality modern calibers, but an example that has been conscientiously and competently maintained can often be capable of shockingly good performance considering the entry price.
The reputation that currently surrounds them is at least partly owner-induced in my opinion. If we consider a watch that was made in 1989 to modest quality standards using dated technologies and has never been serviced in the ensuing decades, the criticism of the original manufacture starts to seem at least slightly misplaced.
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